As of late, I have been having my own difficulties in trying to eat healthfully but still maintain some semblance of nutrition. I will openly admit that couponing is not my thing, and trying to find time to plan meals is no funsies. However, I have figured out a few things that might help those who might want to insert some good food into their lives.
1. Figure out your own nutritional needs
What I mean is, figure out what you need for your lifestyle. For a time I had some insulin resistance issues (genetic) and had to cut out refined carbohydrates and sugars. Some people who are high-intensity athletes might need more carbohydrates and might not care too much about calorie counting. All in all, if you are just a general member of society (not that you're not 'special' ;) ), I would highly advise trying to balance your meals like this:
40-50% Carbs, 25-35% protein, 20-30% fat. Under 2500 mg of sodium and over 25 grams of fiber.
So what the heck does that mean. That means that for the overall nutritional intake of your day, you should get 40-50% of your energy from carbohydrates, 25-35% from protein, and of course 20-30% from fats (GOOD fats, mind you).
Ultimately, your carbs should come from vegetables (yes, veggies have carbs!) and from whole grains. Your protein should not be gallons of peanut butter (sigh) but from lean proteins like fish, nuts, beans, etc.
As you can see from the plate dairy is kind of a "whatever" item now, mainly there to ensure that you get the calcium that you need. I personally am dairy-free, but get most of my calcium from almond milk and other sources.
2. Figure out where to sacrifice
Ok so now that you know what you need to be eating, figure out where you can sacrifice. Because let's be real, buying all fresh, organic, minimally processed food is going to get pricey. And I'm still not totally sold on organic (see my post on organic foods). So all I can do is share with you what I did, and maybe it can help guide you along.
- Cut out junk food snackage. This may sound painful, and it probably will be, but I cannot tell you how much money I save now from not buying junk. Junk=crackers, chips, pretzels, 100-calorie packs, refined granola bars, cereal, etc. Basically stuff that you munch on that is just there for that reason: to munch on. If you can find a way to cut these out, you can replace them with cheaper and more nutritionally valuable items.
- Buy fruits and vegetables in season, and buy the ones that are safer in terms of pesticides
- "The Clean 15 "1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Cantaloupe – domestic
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms
- Essential meats (if you're an omnivore)-boneless, skinless chicken breast, stew meat, ground beef, and fish that (if you can swing it) is wild-caught
- Essential fixin's: Lemon juice, white wine (you over 21'ers), spices (invest in a spice rack, it is worth it in the long run), onions, garlic, olive oil, butter, beef/chicken bouillon cubes, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, canned beans
- Essential sides: Depending on your preference, I usually just pick up some steamable vegetables that are on sale. This makes it fast, easy, cheap, and you're still getting in some nutrition. So, probably around 3-4 steamable veggie bags of your choice. Then add a healthy starch: sweet potato fries, whole grain bread with butter, whole grain pasta.
- Essential snacks: pick snacks that are fibrous, nutritious and filling: apples, celery, carrots
- Breakfast: cut out crap cereals. They are a waste of calories and money. Choose to have whole grain english muffins with peanut butter, or eggs. PUT IN THE EFFORT. :)
This will seriously give you at least 3, maybe 4 meals a week to start. For example, say I have stew meat and I also bought some asian-style mixed vegetables: sautee in a pan with some soy sauce, garlic, butter and brown sugar and you have an instant stir-fry. Maybe you're feeling like a lighter meal, like fish; coat with spices and simmer in butter/lemon/garlic juice over some pasta. The combinations are endless! and eventually you will figure out what you like and don't like, and you can adjust this list as needed.
This blogger has a great meal-planning printable that will help you with getting started: Balancing Home Meal Plan Printable
4. Let yourself indulge on 1/2 things a week, don't go all out. Like a special kind of beer? Buy it! but don't buy it on top of 6 other things you like to indulge in during the week. I myself have a sweet tooth, so I will typically give myself either buy a brownie box or pillsbury ready-bake cookies. If you try to give up everything you will never survive. Let yourself have a day or 2 of cookies or whatever, and you will be more likely to stick with your plan.
5. Check out weekly sales at your grocery store (Publix BOGO's are awesome) and check out coupons.com. I am not a crazy couponer, because frankly I just don't have the time to learn how. But I do save some money when I can get a good BOGO deal, or save a dollar or so off of an item I was going to purchase anyways.
Hopefully that can help get you started. See how much you spend after a week of planning and adjust as needed by your budget. It will take a couple weeks to get a rhythm but once you get one, it makes shopping and eating much less stressful, much healthier, and hopefully easier on your budget!
